17. Keira #2
Before I can well up with overwhelming emotion, Caitlin barrels into me, squeezing me far too hard in an embrace and slapping my back multiple times.
When she pulls away, a scowl fills her face and tears form at the corners of her eyes.
“By the Soul Ripper, Keira, what were you thinking leaving us like that? I thought Father was going to burn down the kingdom again in his rage.”
“I did what I had to,” I whisper. “I won’t apologize for it.”
There is a slight tremble to her body where she holds on to me.
“Thank you for getting Morgana out of that monster’s clutches.
I cannot explain how much it means to me.
I will stop at nothing to help you regain your throne, not that it will ever repay the sacrifice you made for us.
” She scrubs away her tears. “Gods damn it, I have turned soft since becoming a mother.”
While we are still hugging, half sobbing but trying to hide it, Klara races past us, straight to Rainier, who shuffles awkwardly by the closed door. She grabs him by the shoulders and examines every inch of him with burning lilac eyes, like she is searching for injuries.
Rainier remains incredibly still. “I have missed you, Mother,” he says softly, hardly daring to look her in the eye. “I am still so sorry that I initially picked the wrong side of this battle—sorry for everything, really. I have been trying to make it right—to make up for what I did…”
“Enough of that!” she snaps at him and he flinches, but before he can pull away, she grabs his face and kisses each of his cheeks, then engulfs him in a hug.
“We have spoken about this already. You and most of the Spring Court made a mistake. It is what you did after you realized her true colors that counts.”
My heart swells for them as potent relief washes over Rainier’s face and he pulls his mother closer to him.
“Just make sure your father doesn’t get himself into trouble in that rabid bitch’s court,” Klara grumbles.
Rainier laughs. “I thought he was a magnet for trouble.” Klara scowls at him and he throws his arms up. “Okay. Okay. I will try.”
“I don’t see why he couldn’t come here tonight,” she ventures.
“Florian was expected to attend a formal dinner with the other advisers.”
Cyprien squeezes my shoulder, dragging my attention away from mother and son and giving me a curt nod. I have never met a less affectionate man, except when he is with Aldrin. Then I am passed between Hawthorne and Klara, who wrap their arms around me and talk over the top of each other.
With dizzying force, I am deposited in front of Silvan.
He pats my arm awkwardly, but there is a softness in his eyes as he looks down at me, or at least a momentary lack of simmering rage.
“You have been a bloody hard woman to get to. How have they been treating you? Tell me, how many of the assholes in Titania’s inner circle do I need to kill? ”
“Why not all of them?” I laugh. His blond eyebrows shoot up as I drag him into a hug, and he stands with his arms limp at his sides for too long before finally wrapping them around me.
Sometimes I wonder if there is nothing gentle or tender left in the man, until it is forced out in these moments.
“Thank you for showing up for me,” I whisper.
“What in the Darkest Realm were we supposed to do? Leave our queen in the clutches of that maniac unaided?” he growls. “We have been trying to get to you ever since the moment she took you.”
A single man is left in the crowd, hovering back and watching me with uncertainty.
I almost don’t recognize him. Kai is in his entirely humanoid form, which looks anything but human.
I have never seen him with two legs, or wearing clothes, and he seems uncomfortable with both.
The kelpie’s long hair, braided down his back, has a deep blue-and-green sheen to it, and his chest is completely bare, because of course it is.
There is a blue tint to his skin, and it is scattered with scales where a human would have hair.
I hardly saw him during his brief aid in our war against Finan, and it has been too long. I run up to Kai and hug him, because despite his distance, he was my savior too many times in my first visit to these lands.
“Don’t get soft on me, human,” he grumbles.
I laugh, my pointed ears on full display. “I don’t know if you can call me that anymore.”
“So I heard.” He pats me twice, then pries me off him. “Why are you and your mate always needing me to save you?”
“Don’t mind him.” Klara bumps her shoulder happily into his and earns a stern look. “Kai is happy to see you. He is pissed off, and rightly so, because we just learned how low fae are treated in the capital.”
“I am fucking furious. You will fix this.” His words are hard, said in that gravelly voice that doesn’t seem meant for this language, but those brown eyes are pleading. “I will not be a second-rate citizen.”
“I will fix it, Kai. I just need your help.”
Warmth blossoms within my chest as they all look at me, talking over the top of each other and laughing. Aldrin’s loyal band of warriors don’t view me as a tool or figurehead to be used. They genuinely care about me.
My parents converge on me the moment the others back off.
My mother removes my cloak from my shoulders, fixing my hair and fussing over the form-fitting gold gown beneath that leaves no curve to the imagination.
The entire dress is covered in tiny beads that shimmer as they reflect the light, except for the long, sheer sleeves.
The corset is tight, lifting my breasts and dipping in the middle to expose much of my cleavage.
There is a split in the silk skirt that reaches high up my thigh, and I tell myself it is to allow me to run if needed.
The entire dress pairs functionality with beauty.
“So, you are continuing the look she forces upon you in the palace?” my mother asks without a hint of judgment.
We both ignore the fact that Titania’s outfits are far more revealing than this one.
Each time I walk through her court proudly despite my attire, she reduces the amount I get to wear the next time.
“Since I have no choice there, I am claiming the look as my own,” I say. “It is unfortunate for her that she started this with gold chains to make me look like a powerless royal prisoner, because she cannot back down now, and the color makes me look regal.”
A red flush creeps up my father’s neck and his fists clench and unclench, like he wants to charge straight to the palace and strangle Titania with his bare hands, but he says nothing.
“You look beautiful, dear.” My mother arranges the curls of my hair. “Trust me, you will find the nobility mimicking your style in this realm and mine, just as long as you stand tall and wear it with pride.”
She leaves unspoken the fact that even this gown would be a mild outrage in my home kingdom of Strathia. But myself and Caitlin in armor was no less of a stir.
We never played by the rules.
“I have written a list of speaking points for you.” She pulls a long, rolled-up piece of parchment from her pocket and tucks it into my hand.
“Try to touch on as many of them as possible. Klara, Hawthorne and Silvan have spent the last hour mingling with the merchants drinking in the hall and have interviewed them on their main grievances. Each speech needs to be tailored to the specific concerns of the group you address.”
I nod as my eyes flick over the words, many of the topics already a part of my intended speech, but there are some new items. “Thank you, Mother.”
“That is not all, Keira. Copy as many of their mannerisms as you can. You want to be relatable to these merchants.” She presses her bony fingers into my shoulders and leads me to the doorway, where the stage is laid out before us.
“Watch the way this woman speaks. Back straight. Chin up. Full of the confidence of a businesswoman running a massive, thriving enterprise. There is strength, anger and passion in her voice, and she doesn’t cower or pause each time another merchant calls out and interrupts her speech.
Yes, she may answer the question, or she may ignore it, but even the worst criticisms don’t make her hesitate. ”
I nod vigorously. Most would be intimidated by stepping onto a stage and speaking before a crowd, especially one that might not be kind toward me, but I have spent my entire adult life under the public eye as Finan’s intended betrothed.
Nothing, nothing, can be worse than being forced to marry him in front of that crowd, or being silenced on the royal dais while he held court and discussed the war against my family.
“And Keira.” My mother breaks my concentration. “These people believe Aldrin is dead. It is a thing we can use to our advantage.”
My heart stops, then hammers rapidly as the memories flood me. “You would have me lie to our people?”
“Not a lie. Aldrin did die during the war against Finan. We both know his heart stopped for too long after your father brought him back from that battlefield and he was full of musket bullets. It took strong magic to make it beat again. I am merely suggesting we use Titania’s lies against her.
That we claim Aldrin died and was brought back from death as a martyr to save his people from a tyrant. ”
“Twice,” I murmur, my chest constricting painfully. “He has died twice.”
My mother’s face drops. My father notices our mood change and comes over, placing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side while I tell them in whispers what happened when he challenged the leadership of the Assassins of Belladonna.
I glance at Aldrin’s people, chiefly Cyprien, and know they don’t need to be devastated by the details just yet.
My father peers into my face with emerald fire burning in his eyes. “Pour your anger into your speech. Show them your strength.”
When my presence is announced and I step out onto that stage, I do so with fury brimming in my soul and my hair literally ablaze.
The orange-and-gold curls rise on a phantom breeze, moving in a cloud around my shoulders, flames licking across them and embers floating around me.
The light it casts shimmers across the golden beads of my dress and I am sure it has a similar effect upon my crown.
I ensure my ears are in their true, pointed fae form and allow every one of my abundant freckles to glow with the fire that rages beneath.
The crowd turns deathly silent, staring at me with wide eyes, absolutely stunned.
Good. They are ready to hear their queen.